An impeachment witness against president Joe Biden is suing former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson for defamation.
The complaint filed in Washington, D.C., by attorneys for Tony Bobulinski, a former business associate of Hunter Biden, claims Hutchinson insinuated in her book "Enough" that he and then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows were "involved in some sort of nefarious dealings" when they briefly huddled at a Donald Trump campaign rally on Nov. 1, 2020, in Georgia.
"[Hutchinson's] defamatory statements about Mr. Bobulinski were knowingly and recklessly false," the complaint states. "She was well aware that there was no wrongdoing at this meeting, and that there was no exchange of papers or envelopes. As Mr. Meadows’ principal assistant, [Hutchinson] had an insight into Mr. Meadows’ meetings, yet she lied about this meeting."
Bobulinski denied wearing a ski mask during the encounter, which Hutchinson said she witnessed and photographed through a gap between two vehicles, and he denied that Meadows had handed him what appeared to be a "folded sheet of paper or a small envelope."
“Mr. Bobulinski claims under oath that he was not wearing a mask, that Mr. Meadows did not hand him anything, and that Ms. Hutchinson is ‘fabricating facts,’” wrote Hutchinson's lawyer after Bobulinski denied her claims during impeachment testimony before the House Oversight Committee. “Perhaps Mr. Bobulinski’s memory is impaired about the meeting, and a picture would help refresh his recollection.”
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The defamation complaint claims Bobulinski has suffered $75,000 in harm and seeks punitive damages against Hutchinson.
"Anthony Bobulinski is a decorated Navy veteran who put his country above politics," the suit states. "Because Mr. Bobulinski did not pledge blind loyalty to the Democrat Party and to the Biden family, but rather, was a guest of President Trump’s at a Presidential debate, Defendant, Cassidy Hutchinson chose to viciously defame him."
"Defendant cashed in on her brief proximity to President Trump to become the 'star' witness of, and in collaboration with, the January 6th Committee and profited from politically left-wing business ventures," the complaint adds. "In doing so, Defendant has nefariously lied about those with whom she affiliates President Trump."
